Rainbow Dash somersaulted into the air, blasting off higher and farther.

As she drifted away from her newfound acquaintances, the pegasus observed the sword in her hooves with more detail, the very same sword that was held against her neck mere moments ago. It was fairly simple, yet very different from the swords she had seen back home. For instance, the blade – though somewhat short, unlike Equestrian swords – had a slight inward curvature, and it ended in a broader, pointed tip. The handle had an arch as well, but not so prominent and barely noticeable when compared to the blade itself, in addition, it had many inscriptions added to it. Also, It did not seem to be made from wood, but from something akin to ivory, as far as Rainbow’s knowledge went.

If she were a more petty mare, she would have dropped the sword in the middle of the desert for nopony to ever find it, or some such thing, but she was not. Instead, Rainbow decided to keep the sword with no real reason in particular, except only because she could. Like she said, a souvenir. Besides, who could blame her when they were the ones trying to rob her in the first place?

Seeing as she had nowhere else to hold it, Rainbow tied the handle on the straps of the canteen, making use of the slight curve to keep it in place and avoid any… unscheduled sharp rain. It wasn’t the most comfortable of methods, but if it did the trick then she could care less about the why’s and how’s.

As the Pegasus soared the skies, she appreciated the tranquillity of the dawning sun. It made her think of home. Of Equestria. Rainbow thought about her friends as well. How would she ever find them? She was no unicorn, she had no tracking spell like Rarity and her gems. She tried to recall the time when they got separated, but all she was able to see at that moment was the light of the princess’ spell. It all happened so fast, she hadn’t had a minute to take it all in, and within a moment's notice…

No matter. She will find a way, Rainbow Dash always found a way, she just had to follow Rook’s advice and find the famous carpenter, get herself a map and leave behind this immensity of a desert. – The Sahida desert.

Sahida ain’t kind to anypony, that’s what Rook said, right? Then she just had to make the most of this chance and prove herself to Sahida. Consider this an endurance test, like those the Wonderbolt recruits have to take in the academy in order to become an official member.

Finding her resolve, she flew straight ahead faster than ever before, no regard for anything in her way or any second thoughts she might be having about any of this.

Finally, after many, many, many hours of uninterrupted flying, Rainbow allowed herself to slow down just when she saw the first hints of civilization in the form of a town by the name of Tayne. “About time!” She exclaimed, overjoyed.

From her point in the skies, Rainbow could see the entirety of Tayne. The town itself was tinier than Ponyville, but, as opposed to her hometown, the spaces between buildings was reduced. The streets were made of rock it seemed, a good contrast to all the sand she endured this past few days. Yet, the thing that drew her attention more than the one story buildings and the cobblestone was that Tayne was sheltered from the rest of the desert, covered from one edge to another in stone walls. Rainbow flew overhead of Tayne as she passed the outer wall, and she noticed the gates were wide open with nopony to guard them.

As she started her descent, Rainbow was greeted with astonished looks and continued glances from the locals that were there to witness her arrival. She didn’t know what she expected to see when she got there, but she definitely did not expect this. There were not only earth ponies here, but also Minotaurs, some feline-like creatures she never met before that walked in their rear paws, and were those sheep? They were vastly different from the sheep Fluttershy cared for in Ponyville, these were taller and had long curved horns.

She landed in the middle of the street and folded her wings underneath the ruana, Rainbow looked around at the faces that studied her without uttering a single word. It was extremely awkward.

She noticed they were all dressed, too. Some of them wearing single garments or an entire outfit, but all in muted tones. One might think the only splash of colour in this place was herself! It was a good thing Rook gifted her the ruana, or else she would've felt (even more) out of place.

The pegasus started to walk ahead, venturing herself into no particular path. She just didn’t want to stay there and wait for something to happen. The Minotaurs, the feline-like creatures, the ponies and even the sheep watched her take every step with looks she could not decipher. Rainbow was starting to feel anxious but she would not show it for the life of her, she just faced ahead with a solemn and callous face, just like AJ would.

As she walked the cobblestone streets, more and more creatures would momentarily stop whatever they were doing and stare coldly at her. The paths were uneven and potholed, the buildings appeared to be made of wood and stone but she doubted they would hold in the faintests of disasters, she bet that if she were to crash in any of them, they would just crumble. As far as she could see, this place was all rundown and nopony seemed to care.

Why was she here, again? Oh, yeah, the cameratopher, she needed to find him to get a map. Where should she look first? Rainbow surveyed around to see if there were any indication of where to find anypony, but honestly it all looked the same to her. Finally giving up, Rainbow turned to the closest stall for help.

The pegasus came up to a wooden stall where a feline-like creature was scribbling something on a sheet of paper, they seemed uninterested in her – or anypony, really – that came by. They had brown-ish fur, except for their chest and paws (which were covered in white fur), and wore a dark vest. Rainbow stood there for a few seconds waiting for the creature to turn their attention to her, but to no avail, so she cleared her throat in impatience. “What?” Asked the creature, not even sparing her a glance.

“Geez” Rainbow thought. “I’m looking for a cameratopher, do you know where I can find him?”.

The feline-like creature finally decided to take their eyes from the paper and look at her, seemingly at a loss for words. “A ‘cameratopher’?” They asked again, chuckling.

Rainbow sighed in frustration. “I don’t know what it is called, but I heard there’s a dude living here that can give me a map”. She explained.

The feline suddenly laughed, taking Rainbow by surprise. “A ‘cameratopher’!” They exclaimed. “Oh, imma tell Rusty you said that”.

Rainbow looked around as they laughed, trying to avoid eye contact to save herself the embarrassment. She could have said anything but she just had to blurt out the stupidest thing in the most awkward of places, hadn’t she? “So, where can I find him?” She inquired again, trying to appear laid-back.

The feline laughed. “You just made my day, sunshine” They said, wiping away a tear from their eyes. “I dunno where you can find this ‘cameratopher’ but tell you what, go talk to ‘cuz Jack and see if he knows him. He knows everybody”. The feline leaned against the counter. “Tell him Randall sent you, since you’re so funny I’ll give you the family treat. He’s the bartender in the bar around the corner”. Rainbow smiled subtly and thanked Randall, redirecting herself to the bar they pointed at, but before she could leave, the feline called to her once again. “Aye! By the way, you’re looking for a cartographer, not a cameratopher”.

Oh, right…

Rainbow chuckled and bid farewell to Randall. And as she reached the bar, she felt a little bit more at ease. At least there was somepony… err, someone that was amicable here.

The bar was so camouflaged between rundown buildings and stands, that if she didn’t know what she was looking for, she would’ve just walked past it. But thanks to Randall she made a b-line for the establishment and entered without remorse. After all, she had the family treat!

The door was lighter than she thought, for when she opened it, it slammed against the wall and everypony inside turned their heads to her. Rainbow almost feared she had broken it for a second, but alas, it was still in one piece.

The pegasus analysed the bar, lit by candlelight, the tables covered in glasses and wooden mugs filled to the brim of alcohol, dirty dishes with scraps of food and an entirety of patrons going about their day (up until she arrived, of course. Always the centre of attention). There was a pool table near the end of the room, and a dartboard on the other end, creatures like before stood by them, counting their scores and outplaying their opponents.

The pegasus walked to the bar as all the eyes in the room followed her every move, what was it with this place and everypony looking at her? She was used to the admiring looks, but this was starting to get annoying!

Rainbow sat on an empty stool as the patrons continued with their games and drinks, chattering in the background. She found herself between a Minotaur and an earth pony on each side of her. Rainbow spared them both challenging glances, as if actually daring them to even try to piss her off, she had come too far, and she wasn’t backing out now.

As if saved by the bell, the bartender followed soon after to meet her. Just as Randall had mentioned, the bartender was a feline-like creature very similar to them, with the same brown-ish fur and white chest and paws. Even if he displayed no emotion, he wasn’t as unwelcoming as she expected, especially with that apron on him. “This must be ‘cuz Jack” she thought.

He stood in front of her, cleaning a glass and waiting to hear whatever she had to say, so Rainbow just got down to business. “Are you ‘cuz Jack’?”.

“Ye”. He answered.

“Randall sent me here” She announced, first and foremost. Rainbow thought it wise to make that clear, in any case, at least if ‘cuz Jack didn’t want to help her, he could take it with Randall himself. Both the the Minotaur and the earth pony, hearing Randall’s name, turned their attention elsewhere. “They said you know everybody?”.

“Ye”. ‘cuz Jack finished cleaning the glass and threw the cloth he was using onto his shoulder. Looking at her carefully.

Geez, okay. Cat of a few words.

“I’m looking for a cartographer, you know him?”.

“Ye”.

Rainbow and ‘cuz Jack stared at each other. The feline-like creature was starting to remind her of Big Macintosh, ever so quiet and contemplative. Those two would get along nicely, she thought. But at the same time, the pegasus was expecting him to continue and give her any indication of where to find the only hope she had to leave this forsaken desert – and subsequently, her friends.

“... Do you know where he is?” Rainbow asked after a while of just staring at each other, trying to get an answer out of the bartender that didn’t involve the word ‘ye’.

“Ye”.

Oh, Come on!

Her muzzle wrinkled after that statement. “Well? Where is he?” She asked once more, gritting her teeth. As the bartender signed to a table in a far corner, Rainbow sighed and turned around in her seat, leaning against the bar to examine the perimeter. In no time she located the table 'cuz Jack was referring to. And despite it being shielded by other creatures playing and roaming around, she couldn’t see well who was there, but she saw somepony, that’s for sure. Rainbow looked back at the feline, as if asking him to confirm her suspicions, which he responded with a sound the pegasus was starting to get used to:

"Ye".

Just like that, he got back to work and left her to tend to other customers.

Rainbow glanced at the table once more. "This is it" the pegasus thought, If everything went well, she would be free to abandon the Sahida desert and finally be able to start her quest. Her friends were waiting for her somewhere, and the first step to finding them was to get ahold of a map so she could track her steps and mark her routes.

Rainbow Dash directed herself to the Minotaur and the earth pony to her sides and took a deep breath to encourage herself. “Wish me luck, dudes” She told them, getting off the stool. The Minotaur and the earth pony, albeit both looked at each other with bewilderment in their eyes, wished her good luck in the form of a simple (yet stiff) nod. She appreciated it.

Author's Note

Fun fact: the sword Rainbow kept is a Yatagan sword, which is the sword of the Turkish Janissaries, the professional troops of the Ottoman Empire.

Also, the feline-like creatures (such as Randall and 'cuz Jack), are the same species as Capper (from the MLP movie).